Repairman Jack - The Empty
by reedm123
Summary: I do not own the rights to the fantastic Repairman Jack novel series by F. Paul Wilson, and I only hope to not to an injustice to the character. I welcome any comments/criticisms/reviews, this is my first story and I really don't know where it is going yet, so please bear with me! :)
1. Chapter 1

**Wednesday**

"Are you sure you don't want a vacuum  
cleaner to go with that danish?" asked Jack as he watched the pastries he  
brought for his friend Abe disappear in a cloud of crumbs and teeth.

Abe looked at him incredulously, "Napkin! What for? Parabellum will take care of any mess." As if on cue Abe's parakeet hopped over and started pecking at the crumbs on the cluttered counter.

Jack couldn't help but smile. As long as he had known his pear-shaped friend he had been a creature of habit and he wouldn't change without a fight that Jack just did not feel up to. "OK, point taken, enjoy...the both of you! Any new stock I may be interested in?" asked Jack as he looked around the cluttered, yet deserted sporting-goods store.

"Oye...do I have something for you, come with me!" Abe hopped (more like slid) off his stool, almost knocking over his pile of papers he went through every morning. "Come on, don't mind the store, nobody wants for sporting supplies these days anyway."

The started down the stairs to the shop's true source of income for it's owner, arms of every imaginable size, age and variation. "More brass nucks in the back with the new throwing knives" Abe mumbles as he waved a pudgy arm in the general direction of a corner Jack knew all too well.

"Not this time Abe, I need something with a little more stopping power than usual, I am seeing some pretty strange things and it is getting harder and harder to 'fix' these things if they won't go down"

"Don't tell me we have Rakoshi again!" a  
wide-eyed Abe shot out.

"No, nothing like that...yet, but with things going like they are with the Adversary as they are you can never be too sure. I was contacted yesterday by a young lady that wanted me to find her husband." explained Jack as he hefted a new crossbow to check the weight.

"For that you need stopping power? Sounds like a spy camera and a trip to the red-light district is more fitting for a job like that!"

"That is the strange thing, he is not missing, well...not really, she has seen him on the streets of the city near Central Park a few times, but he acts like he does not know here and is in a stupor like he is on drugs." Jack pointed to an oddly colored knife on the wall "What is that hideously green thing?"

Abe's eyes sparkled, "I got that in just for you, it is the special Zombie Apocalypse edition K-bar. I thought you would appreciate that with your current infatuation with older zombie movies."

Jack picked up the knife, opened it and read the blade 'Heads will roll'. "I appreciate that, I got the urge to watch the Romero originals when everyone started gushing about that new Walking Dead series. I heard it is great, but there is nothing like the originals in my book."

Abe rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time since Jack passed the first danish his way "You and those movie marathons, will you break down and get cable already?"

"You know how I feel about TV Abe, there is nothing worth watching but the news and that is on the free channels. Cable just gives officialdom another chance to get you. Besides, if I really want to watch something I will just go to Julio's."

Julio's was the shabby bar Jack used as an office because of the dark, unpopulated atmosphere it had. The proprietor, Julio made a point of making hippies and 'new blood' feel unwelcome and furthered the idea with the dead plants in the window to turn away curious eyes.

"Oye...have it your way then, I will leave you to the old TV and VCR you still use. So, what is this about a 'not really disappeared' husband?

"This lady called my machine the other day leaving a message about her husband being gone for a few days, but having seen him near the park. It sounded unusual enough I figured I would give her a listen. She met me at Julio's and she did not fit in, she obviously has money."

Abe looked up, "Aha! It always boils down to greed, he empty out the accounts on her?"

"That is another strange factor, he hasn't touched any money at all, not even to buy clothes or food from the way she said he looked. She saw him the morning she called me and when she ran up to him he just kept walking...actually shuffling according to her...past her with a vacant look. It hadn't looked like he had eaten or changed for the time he had been missing."

"Sounds interesting, but I don't see the part that caught your interest, you are not that easily impressed. Here, take a look at this .500 S&W Magnum cartridge, this is the cartridge that separates the girly men from the real  
men. You want to stop something, stop it this will! Try them out with the Model Smith & Wesson  
500 revolver made for just that size cartridge."

"Sounds good, I will let you know how it works. A little larger than I usually like to carry, but I may need it for this job." Jack turned to the stairs, "Catch ya later Abe, and thanks a lot."

"Wait just a second there, what is all this stopping power for?" Abe exclaimed " A husband gone astray with a vacant look to him?"

Jack thought about it a second but decided he did not want to explain too much of his idea about this yet, almost like verbalizing it would make it real. "Not yet Abe, got some research to do before I can say any more, just a feeling I have. Want to be safe."

"Fine...don't tell me! Don't come running to me when you get killed and decided you needed a bigger gun." Abe muttered while looking busy to hide his disappointment at not being let in on the gig.

"Thanks Abe, your the best. I will fill you in later, promise!" Jack yelled over his shoulder as he dashed up the stairs fast enough that Abe couldn't try to milk more information out of him than he wanted to give.

At least that was easier than dealing with Gia earlier. He stopped by to see the two women in his life before swinging by Abe's shop. Vicky threw herself at him and begged him to stay for breakfast. He could never deny that bright twelve-year old smile. He did not discuss this new case and kept it quick because he did not want to worry Gia or have to answer too many questions. It killed her inside already knowing the risks he took, and he did not want to burden her any more than she already was.

Turning a quick left, right, right and then a couple more lefts he took the long route home to lose any tail he may have. He knew he probably did not have one now, but it was when you thought you were safe you wound up in trouble.

Finally! A break before the real work starts! Jack slumped into his overstuffed recliner and started flipping through a new catalog of collectables more wasting time than actually looking for something specific. Jack had just purchased a schmoo wristwatch and decided to take a break from searching for a while and enjoy his new acquisition (maybe it had something more to do with needing to find a place amidst all his collection's clutter for it though). Either way, it served as a distraction for his hands and eyes while he pondered the past 24 or-so hours.


	2. Chapter 2 - flashback Tuesday - noon

"What now" thought Jack as his beeper started going off in his pocket! He knew it was his main source of 'work' but it was still usually irritating with it's timing. As it turned out he was walking by a pay-phone at the time so he stopped. Jack called his machine and heard there were two messages on it so he started with the newest.

"I just saw him" came a ladies voice over the earpiece, "He acted like he didn't know me, I don't know what to do, please help!"

"That will teach me to start with the oldest first" he figured the message was a follow-up to the older one. Turns out he was right "Hi, this is...Mrs. …... White". False name, not a good start Jack thought. "My husband has been gone for a couple days now. He never leaves without telling me, he took nothing with him and there has been no contact with any of our friends. I was given this number by a friend of a friend, he said to tell you it was Russ and I was OK."

Russ Tuit was one of Jack's few friends that knew what he really did for a living. He was a computer hacker that was no longer allowed online (officially) because of a little trouble he got into a few years back. If Russ sent her it was probably OK, but so far it sounded like a pass to Jack.

The message went on, "I wish I had more to tell you, but my husband is always very punctual and communicative with me about everything he does. The only thing I can fing that he did not mention to me was a memo about a meeting with a Mr Sal Roma..."

Jack's mind immediately disregarded the rest of the message...that name, could he be back? The champion of the Adversary! Jack's mouth went dry and he couldn't focus he eyes on anything for a while as his mind struggled to comprehend what he just heard. What are the odds there could be another Sal Roma that has something to do with a prospective client of his? Not good, and that was if you believed in coincidences, which he did not.

Jack restarted the message again to get "Mrs. White's" number and immediately dialed her back.

"Hello"

"Hi, this is Jack. You called me about a case, meet me at a little bar called Julio's in two hours, here is the address..." Jack hung up after he made sure she knew where she was going and realized just how shook-up he was when it hit him they did not even discuss price! Have to fix that later, if he could even begin to put a price on the possibility of facing Rasalom again!

Nestled into his normal corner booth, of his office as Julio referred to it, Jack sat and stared at the door waiting for his prospective client. "How 'bout a beer Meng?" Julio shot out from the bar.

Jack glanced over at him standing under the ever present "Free beer tomorrow" sign and pondered the idea...no, better stay fresh for this one. "Thanks, but no, maybe a coffee?" The coffee sucked here, but it would certainly keep him focused on the problem coming his way.

Just as he completed that thought the door closed behind a lady that was probably quite a looker ten to fifteen years ago. Could hold her own even at this age actually thought Jack as she got closer. She was dressed very professionally in a white dress-suit and clutch to match.

She stopped at the bar and asked for Jack just in time to avoid the usual gruff greeting Julio usually put on for the preppies, kids or up-town people that wandered in for the novelty. "Hang on a second, serving a customer first" He muttered.

"Here is the coffee Meng..."

"Show her back here" interrupted Jack, another sign he was rattled. He always got Julio's impressions and sized people up before revealing who he was. "I need to get myself in line here" he thought.

"hey lady, come over here" Julio uttered as he moved back to the bar.

"Jack? I am Mrs."

"I need a real name if we are going to work together, and it is not White" Jack remarked before she could stumble over another rendition of her name.

"Fair enough, I am Mrs. Gayle Whitton and my husband's name is Clark. I am very worried and I am praying you can help me."

"Mrs. Whitton..."

"Gayle, please."

"OK, Gayle, You said you just saw your husband, if so then why do you need me? Couldn't the police or hospital just pick him up and he would be safe and sound by now?"

"That is what scares me so much. I saw him and I know he saw me, but he acted as if I was not there. I looked into his eyes and they were...well...empty!"

Jack started to wish he did get that beer now. "Gayle, I still have to wonder why you didn't have him picked-up and taken to a hospital or someplace safe."

"That was the other thing that scared me, as I pressed him for an answer a van pulled over next to us and a couple large men guided him into it and drove away. I asked who they were and what they were doing to my husband, but they ignored me. I yelled and waved, but they just drove off. I know I had just called you, but I immediately called back after that happened I was so scared!"

"That is fine, you did the right thing, were there any marks or signs on the car? Any identifying features on the men you may have noticed?"

"No, nothing...wait a minute, there was something. When the men were pushing Clark into the van one of them got his shirt snagged on the door of the van and he had a strange mark on his back."

Jack tensed, he knew what was coming, but had to let her tell him. No feeding information, that tended to taint the truth at times. "Go on, what was it?"

"I really don't know, it looked like a circle with a strange star in it."

"Shit!" Jack's mind started firing away...the Septimus Order! Could this case get any worse? He shoved a card across the table past the now cold coffee he no longer had the stomach for. "Here is my fee, I usually need half up-front, I know I neglected to mention it on the phone before, so I will take you at your word for now."

"No problem, I have almost that much now, I assumed you would work that way" She reached into her clutch and pulled out an envelope. "Here you are."

Jack shoved it into his pocket without counting. That was the least of his worries right now. "OK, you already told me where you saw him and I have a few ideas, so go home and I will be in touch."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thursday (evening):**

Central Park always brought out the scum of the city at night. No matter what officialdom does the tourists and residents that need to walk through the park are always game for whatever violent or greedy plans these punks can think of.

Jack figured he would do one of his personal fundraisers while he looked for clues. He usually raised a decent amount doing these fundraisers, but his were slightly different than the Girl Scout cookies that were sold on almost every corner this time of year. Jack would seek out trouble, tempt the thugs into thinking he is an easy target or just following the obvious targets until trouble struck. After the thugs made their move, Jack made his. Usually making quick and quiet work of them. Whatever they had on them became 'donations' to Jack's choice of the night and if they were lucky enough to not need a hospital they may even get off without jail time.

Tonight was a little different though, Jack wanted to see if there were any other people like Clark walking around or maybe some of the order hanging out. The order would be harder to spot unless Jack knew them personally from past experiences because they were normal people unless you saw their brand, and on a cool evening in Central Park you weren't likely to see that.

This beard itched more than normal, but the disguise was necessary since Jack did not legally exist and planned on keeping it that way. He spotted a couple pock-marked thugs hanging out under the stone bridge and decided to keep an eye on them. He was just about to circle around and stroll through the tunnel like nothing was wrong when he caught a glimpse of someone else. It certainly wasn't Clark, but this lady had a very blank look to her as well and looked like she hadn't eaten or changed in days. As she passed by the bridge the taller of the two thugs Jack was watching started to approach her but even the lure of easy money was not worth the stench he apparently walked into. Jack saw him trying to wave his arms and hold his nose at the same time backing off to his friend and signaling him to split.

Crap, no donations tonight thought Jack, he would have to arrange another night for it soon He tried to keep personal goals with his dubious charity work, but this lady looked worth following up on. If she didn't pan out there were plenty more where those two grease-balls came from.

As he got a little closer to tail her, no need for the direct approach yet, Jack found out what drove off the punk. It was a cross between a skunk, an unwashed bum on the street and a port-a-potty in severe need of cleaning. This lady had been out for more than a couple days and apparently hasn't even stopped for a bathroom or a bath and change of clothes. All the more reason to tail behind a bit and see what happens thought Jack.

After a couple hours of watching Penelope (that is what Jack decided to call her) wander about aimlessly he was beginning to wonder if this was an exercise in futility and maybe he should make a call to have her picked-up and taken care of. Just as he was reaching for his cell phone a white cargo van pulled up to the closest curb and a couple burly guys hopped out and grabbed Penelope, dragging her into the van.

"Got us a real ripe one this time." Groaned the bigger of the two.

The smaller guy grimaced at the smell "Just get her into the van and we can get this over with, we are only a few blocks from home-base!"

"I hope I can hold my breath that long."

"Then shut up and don't waste your breath complaining." Obviously the big guy was the muscle and the smaller one was in charge here.

They pushed her into the back of the van and hopped in after. The van started moving before the doors shut. Obviously at least a third party in the van thought Jack. He quickly noted the plate number and watched it as long as he could moving two lights and turning left on what he guessed was Third Street.

Jack looked at his watch, "almost midnight, guess I should start home." he thought. As he turned to start back home he noticed the two goons he was watching before starting to approach him like they were out for a stroll. "OK, the spirit of giving is not dead tonight after all!"

Jack played like he didn't notice anything and opened his stance to look like a wide-eyed tourist (what fool tourist would be in the park alone at midnight was anyone's guess though). As he passed between the two goons they parted to let him by and then circled around so they were both directly behind him.

"OK" thought Jack, "Let them make the first move so they can't blame anyone but themselves." Just as he thought that he saw one reach into his pocket and the other start to circle around to face Jack.

"Nice night for a smoke, ain't it bub?" As the kid said it Jack noticed the greasy hair and pock-marked face that topped the lanky figure of the younger of the two.

Jack grinned like a fool. "Sorry, I don't smoke."

"That's OK, you can help us purchase the next pack, and maybe a drink to go along with it!" Grumbled a deeper voice from behind Jack.

No masks and they weren't being cautious at all, bad news! They either had no intentions of letting their prey survive or they were so doped-up they didn't know what was going on...both situations very dangerous to deal with! "Sorry, I am headed home now, in a hurry, maybe next time OK?" Jack said, giving them one last out.

Grease-ball pulled a knife out and started waving it in front of Jack's face thinking he had an easy target that wouldn't fight back...dead wrong! Jack moved with fluidity that left the two not knowing what happened later. One foot shot back to where Jack estimated the deep-voiced one's knee would be and was rewarded with a sharp crack as the goon's knee bent in the opposite direction a normal knee does. At the same time he swung his elbow up to deflect the knife-hand of the greaser while head-butting the kid's nose into mush.

In only a matter of a few seconds both thugs were squirming on the ground. "OK guys, here is how it is going to go down" started Jack "You have decided to generously donate all you have on you to the St. Mary's little league baseball team."

"Why you..."started the lanky one sounding nasally through the mess that used to be a nose.

"Uh-uh...I wouldn't try that unless you want a shattered kneecap like your buddy." Jack lifted his metal-toed boot to stress the point. Sure enough the kid whimpered back to the ground trying to stifle the whining from the pain in his face. "Good boy, you may make it to an emergency room tonight after all!"


End file.
